Ms. Wales has a problem. The symptoms are an itch to explore, a need to experience the new, and a love for seeing the world. The diagnosis: Ms. Wales has caught the travel bug! 

Born in Hawaii, Casey Wales moved with her military family to Virginia, where she was raised. But it was when she was studying abroad in Spain that the bug caught up to her. 

“That experience just rocked my world for the better in every aspect. It opened up so many amazing cultures and experiences, and being able to view things from different points of view,” said Wales.

While in Spain, she visited Rome,  one of her favorite places in Europe, but for a very special reason. Rome is where she met her now-husband, so that has a special place in her heart. 

“But I [also] love the city, and the fact that there’s always something going on. It’s like a buzz, you walk outside and you already feel like you’re included in something.” Wales explains

So Wales graduated college with a Spanish major and no idea what to do. She decided to move halfway across the world to England to be closer to her would-be British husband, obviously. 

“It was something I didn’t even think twice about!” she says. “We would travel to different countries on the weekend!”  

Today, Ms. Wales has three children, and she and her husband have been “trying to instill that love of curiosity and travel into our children, and it’s really nice to see them fully immersing in [the culture].” She has really enjoyed  seeing them experience traveling and seeing the world through their eyes. 

Ms. Wales  had thought of herself as open to new experiences and challenges, but by putting herself out there in a different country and different languages, it put everything into perspective for her. It was her travels that led her to where she is now, an excited college and career readiness teacher ready to make a difference at Briar Woods. 

 “I am just really excited to work with the students and families at Briar Woods. I love to teach and give students the tools and resources to help them make these all important decisions about what their pathways in life might be,” says Wales, “It’s a wonderful thing to see because all of a sudden they understand that they can do it.”